akflyer

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Everything posted by akflyer



  1. akflyer added a post in a topic Strip it the rest of the way down?   

    Aluminum tanks??
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  2. akflyer added a post in a topic what is a bush pilot?   

    X2. 
    Your vids are awesome Fred.  A man and his machine enjoying the air and outdoor activities.  As if should be in my book.  Your not out there beating your chest or making false claims.
    Maybe I am bit sensitive with all the bogus "reality" shows that are on TV now about AK.  They portray us to be a bunch of inbred back woods hicks and it pisses me off.  The drama if fake and the shows are obviously scripted.  I see a lot of that in the other groups videos over sensationalizing what they are doing.
    Do I think some of the stuff they are doing is cool?  of course I do.  I am a man with a passion for flying, I get it.  I am also entitled to my opinion and to voice that opinion   Bottom line, anything that is over dramatized sucks.  When false claims are made expect to get called out on them.  When you choose to put yourself in the limelight, be ready to take some shots from others who don't have to agree with every thing you do, I am not a cult follower.
     
    I am off the soap box and done with the "rant"  Ya'll get out there and burn some air or work on your birds
     
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  3. akflyer added a post in a topic what is a bush pilot?   

    Blood pressure is just fine here
    Yes I have posted up some vids as well, but just showing me beating the shit out of an airplane showing what can be done and abuse that can be given.  Pretty sure I never labeled my vids as the baddest ass bush plane ever built nor gave long commentaries on them.  I can see where lines get blurred between posting up vids or pics of us out just having fun, and dudes that gloat about 150k vids with million dollar heli shoots.  If that's what yanks their crank and they need their ego stroked that much to be able to sleep at night so be it.. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming
     
     
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  4. akflyer added a post in a topic what is a bush pilot?   

    For the record, I am not calling them namby pamby pretty boys... I just think they are grossly misrepresented.  Are they good for invigorating general aviation?  yes.  They have probably single handedly put more $$ into the pockets of the bushwheels business than any other advertisement campaign in history.  Thanks to youtube, it seems that its impossible for a cub to fly on anything less than 35" bushwheels, even if your only flying from manicured grass strips.  or otherwise improved strips  
    I guess we can thank them for also driving up the prices for our little planes a bit as well as helping old retired guys split with 300k for a carbon cub they will never come close to flying to its full potential   
    I get that its probably good for general aviation overall.  Probably not so good for those who are trying to insure their planes as the insurance company can take one look at youtube and say oh hell no.. if that's the type of flying we are going to insure, rates are going WAY up.  Its a double edge sword...
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  5. akflyer added a post in a topic what is a bush pilot?   

    Feel free to bring on the hate mail.. I got my Nomex suit on  

    Allen, I grew up getting flown around by some true legends.  The shit I see on youtube these days is getting nauseating.  You want to read about bush pilots get a copy of "wager with the wind" or "king of the ice".  Or any of the old timers that pioneered flying in AK.  Open cockpits flying through white outs and mind numbing temps with nothing more than a compass that hardly worked and very crude maps.  Those who pioneered landing on glaciers and remote unimproved.  Guys who have survived inflight structural failures then walked out 50+ miles only to get in another bird and fly again the next day to keep the services alive and keep customers happy.  Real old time true men with guts that were not in it just for the glory.
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  6. akflyer added a post in a topic Bringing a Kitfox 1 back to life   

    Glad to see ya back on the project.  If you need 4130 tubing Morgan Steel carries the popular sizes.  Stoddards has about any thing you could ask for in tubing.
    Hope your fishing season was a good one.. My brother made enough to make a boat payment but that was about it.  Time to get that bird in the air!

     
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  7. akflyer added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    what is a bush pilot?
    I have been trying very hard to hold my tongue but I can't do it any longer.
    My feeds are getting blown up with internet sensations with an almost cult like following.  WTF.  
    What makes a STOL / Bush pilot   It seems that by todays definitions its the guy with the most money that can build the lightest plane and put the most power into it and fly it for the camera to be posted online.  Oh yeah, these guys are also flying empty 99% of the time for the camera.  Is that a true "bush pilot"  Maybe in some twisted alternate reality perhaps, but not in the real world.  
    I say we take those exact same folks, strip away the glass cockpits, iphones and most importantly the effen video cameras and put them in a beat up old straight wing cub, load them up to uhh.. gross weight, throw in some shitty weather, tight mountain passes and actual rocky nasty strips on the side of a mountain and see how they do.  How many of these heros have balled up a great airplane strictly for your pleasure and the camera.  
    How about we let them deal with -50 temps, trying to get the engine warm enough to start.  Try flying from village to village delivering food and supplies during a north slope ground storm.  Hand them a sketch on a sack and let them go try to find stranded hunters or hikers to try and rescue in the middle of absolutely nowhere.  
    Can this new breed of internet "bush pilot" land and take off short with a purpose built, cost is not a factor, empty plane?? Yep.  Guess what, with a few hours in the same planes you can do the exact same thing.  If you want to be a "bush pilot" just go start rubbing shoulders with a great cinematographer and next thing ya know, your the next greatest pilot who ever lived flying the baddest ass bush plane ever built... that has never carried a load of hunters at gross weight into a strip that would make you shit your pants if you saw it.  
    News flash, was draco cool?? yep. was it the most baddest ass bush plane ever??? not by the worlds longest shot.  
    I know some of ya'll enjoy the notoriety and internet fame but call it what it is.. your just a pilot and a show off, your NOT the worlds greatest bush pilot.. hell your not even a pimple on a bush pilots ass.
    I am not directing this at one particular person, more at a group of people that seem to be plastered all over the internet.  Do they have a passion for flying, yes, it appears so.  Might they be cool to hang around the fire with and swap lies?  I am sure they are.. but they are not hard core down and dirty day in and day out keep people alive in very adverse conditions "bush pilots"
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  8. akflyer added a post in a topic plywood seat truss reinforcement   

    Thanks guys.  I was pretty sure it was 1/4" that had been used.

     
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  9. akflyer added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    plywood seat truss reinforcement
    OK guys, I know this has been posted and talked about, but I can't find it.  What was the suggested thickness of ply for the seat truss beef up.  I want to say it was 1/4 or 3/8" but I could be all messed up.  This is for a bird that is already covered so he does not want to be doing any welding.
     

     
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  10. akflyer added a post in a topic Draco crash at Reno today (9/16/2019)   

    He moved up a few notches in my book with that video..  Its pretty damn refreshing to see one take full responsibility, then to post it for others to hopefully learn from.
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  11. akflyer added a post in a topic Draco crash at Reno today (9/16/2019)   

    so he didn't do the stol drags because insurance wanted 40+k to insure him for the event.. then this.  I have mixed feelings on this one so I will keep my mouth shut.  Still sucks to see a plane balled up.
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  12. akflyer added a post in a topic The value of streamlining   

    the aluminum trailing edge works great on the jury and tail struts.  snaps right on then you can cover as needed or a quick strip of tape works too.  If you are going to be on floats, I am not a big fan of wood touching any part of the strut... lots of pics and documentation on that in the forum.  Wet wood and metal don't mix for shit.
    I picked up a hand full of rear struts for a cub that had been replaced with sealed struts.  Most shops will give them way.  This is what I will be making my struts from soon for the Avid.  
    The air under the belly is pretty dirty to begin with so I am not sure how much fairing it in will get ya but it might be worth it to try!  Fair in the strut attach points and gas caps while your at it!
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  13. akflyer added a post in a topic In line fuel filter   

    about as prone to failure as the orings in the engine, the Curtis drain valves, fuel shut off valves etc.  Can he quantify his opinion on the oring failures?? or is it just his opinion.  If he is squawking about this, I would be apt to find a different AP to deal with.

     
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  14. akflyer added a post in a topic Something you hate to see.   

    you would be surprised what proper layers will do for you quite comfortably.  Its not the 1930s and our options are not limited to wool and down.  A good base layer (think high tech long johns, fleece pants / shirt and a good shell and your good to go and there is no more bulk than putting on your jacket for a sunday stroll.
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  15. akflyer added a post in a topic The value of streamlining   

    Your on floats.... your not flying a Ferrari to begin with.  You have 2 options.  Fly your overpowered beast and love it the way it is or spend some money on SS streamline rigging from something like a tcrate on 1320s.  
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  16. akflyer added a post in a topic In line fuel filter   

    I have had issues with a paper filter plugging off with water when it looked clean on first glance.  I won't use a paper filter in my systems anymore.  Only the electric boost pump saved my bacon by being able to keep enough fuel flowing to get back to the lake.
     
    Glass filters got a bad wrap when cub drivers stuff one in and glass bowl on the gascolator breaks sending gas onto a hot exhaust system.  I am torn on this one as it seems to me that we have tanks right above our heads that are more likely to split and cover us in gas than a little filter under the dash.  I don't have a glass bowl on my short wing death trap for the reasons mentioned above but I think it more of a feel good thing than anything else.  Chances are, if you hit hard enough to break the glass filter under the dash, that will be the least of your worries.

     
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  17. akflyer added a post in a topic Something you hate to see.   

    In the winter I fly with what I plan on crashing in.. As in, heavy boots, good cold weather gear etc.  The survival gear is always in the plane, boat/ side x side etc as well. If you are playing remote, a PLB is prudent to have for many reasons. 

     
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  18. akflyer added a post in a topic Softened plastic fuel tank   

    is it ethanol free mogas?  
    Welded aluminum tanks in the wings have proven to be problematic as they are built as an integral part of the KF / Avid wings.  The flexing is what tends to crack the aluminum tanks.  If you were to install them like a piper tank and not have them as an integral part of the wing structure, I don't see aluminum as being an issue at all.
    Any pics of the tanks you have that are wrinkled up and buckled?

     
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  19. akflyer added a post in a topic Something you hate to see.   

    damn, hate to see that.  Been a bad year for aviation so far up here and the hunting season is still in full swing yet.  
    It only takes minutes to find yourself remote and in trouble.  I know within 5 minutes of the Soldotna airport I can be looking at having to be choppered out or having someone with horses come get me.  
    wish the guys a speedy recovery and that the bird sees the air again one day.
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  20. akflyer added a post in a topic Stringer's required?   

    Others have converted these into a single seat airplane before.  Its all about the mission and making it YOUR plane that fits YOUR needs.  I am not one that puts much thought into resale.  I know I will never get out what I put into a project so I tend to hang onto my stuff till I completely destroy it one way or another.

     
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  21. akflyer added a post in a topic The value of streamlining   

    damn.
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  22. akflyer added a post in a topic Got a call from Edmo   

    And this right here is why I put up with the hackers and have this site.  You folks are the absolute best group of folks I have ever had the pleasure of hanging out with!  damn, ya'll got me choked up and I am an asshole  
     
    Jim, thanks for the updates on Ed.  To the rest of you.. damn, I am like a proud 1st time dad holding his baby for the first time..

     
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  23. akflyer added a post in a topic Has anyone ever installed a Lycoming in an Avid Plus?   

    The fat avid or Avid plus is a different beast with a higher max weight.  It was pretty impressive what Randy did with his with the subie in it.  Now that its lighter, has more HP and a much bigger wing its even more impressive.
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  24. akflyer added a post in a topic Fuel Line Routing   

    congrats.  Sounds like you getting closer!
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  25. akflyer added a post in a topic Broken nose rib   

    you can fly it or put a inspection hole and cover in the bottom of the wing, reach up in there and glue it back in place.  You could also cut a slit in the top of the wing, glue it back in place then run a wide pinked tape over the slit and paint to match.
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